Clover Hill Swimming Club
The Clover Hill Swimming Club, in the Millington section of Long Hill Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, was a swim club operating in the late 1950s and 1960s in the suburban New York City metropolitan region.
It was incorporated October 6, 1961.[1] It was a privately owned, for-profit corporation by constructing and operating "beach, swimming, tennis or recreation areas on the plan and form of a private membership club" in what was then called Passaic Township. When Clover Hill began operations in 1963, about 250 families had purchased memberships. The total zoned capacity of the built club was fixed at 400 families. During the period of construction and for some time thereafter, there was displayed at the entrance to Clover Hill a large sign (8' x 4') which read:
"Clover Hill. On this 170 acre site a private family club with complete recreational facilities. Lake swimming, tennis, skating, golfing. For information write or call P.O. Box 222, Millington, N.J., Fr 7-0658, Millington 7-9779."
The club was centered on a 3-acre (12,000 m2) lake filled with water from the club's well. The lake bottom was covered with stones, with white sand covering the 300-foot (91 m) beach, extending out into the water. The late had a 224-foot (68 m) dock and a deep water float. Bleachers overlooked 25 meter swim lanes. The club's swimming teams competed with other clubs.[2] Other amenities typical of swim clubs, such as tennis facilities and a playground, were available. In the early 1990s the adjacent land was developed as a suburban neighborhood. The clubhouse was torn down and replaced by picnic facilities and the docks were removed as part of the neighborhood's development. The land and facilities of the old swim club are now managed by the neighborhood homeowner's association.
The club was the defendant in a landmark 1966 civil rights case, Clover Hill Swimming Club V. Robert F. Goldsboro.[3] The club was sued by an African American veterinarian who said he was denied membership because of his race. The club claimed that because it was private it could pick its own membership, despite the fact that the club advertised at the entrance to Clover Hill and in newspapers that it had a policy of open membership. The Supreme Court of New Jersey sided with the plaintiff.
References
- "Discrimination in Private Social Clubs: Freedom of Association and Right to Privacy," Duke Law Journal, vol. 6 (December 1970), at 1184.[2]